Khabib Nurmagomedov sends “absolute legend” Anderson Silva a message following UFC Vegas 12

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov sent “absolute legend” Anderson Silva a message following his knockout loss at UFC Vegas 12.

Silva was knocked out in the fourth round by Uriah Hall in a back-and-forth fight that marked the official end of Silva’s UFC career. At 45 years old, UFC president Dana White confirmed the world’s leading MMA promotion won’t be offering “The Spider” another fight. There’s a chance that Silva could fully retire from MMA, but at this point, he’s still leaving the door open to a return. But as far as the UFC goes, Silva’s run in the Octagon is over.

With Silva hanging up his gloves, a number of fighters have reached out to “The Spider” on social media to show his respect. Taking to social media following Saturday’s UFC Vegas 12 card, Silva’s fellow legend of the Octagon Nurmagomedov took to his Twitter to send Silva a message of support. Check out the message that “The Eagle” sent to Silva below.

@SpiderAnderson 🕷 absolute legend, good luck warrior, may God protect and bless your family.

— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) November 1, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov: @SpiderAnderson absolute legend, good luck warrior, may God protect and bless your family.

It has certainly been a changing of the guard in 2020 for the UFC and for the sport of MMA in general. Already this year, we have seen numerous legends of the Octagon such as Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, and most recently Silva and Nurmagomedov announce they are stepping away from the sport. MMA is a young man’s game and seeing fighters such as the 41-year-old Cormier and the 45-year-old Silva leave the UFC is not too surprising, but when fighters in their 30s such as Cejudo and Nurmagomedov do, it was pretty shocking.

Ultimately, it’s not surprising that Silva’s UFC run is finally over at age 45. But if these messages from other fighters mean anything, it shows how influential “The Spider” was.

Do you think Anderson Silva will fight again?